Born Mary Harris in Ireland, raised in Canada, a teacher in Michigan and a dressmaker in Chicago, she married George Jones in 1861 and they had four children. George Jones and all four children died in a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1867. Mary Harris Jones then moved to Chicago, where she became a dressmaker. She lost her home, shop and belongings in the Chicago Fire.
A gradually growing interest in labor union issues and in radical politics led her to become active by her late 50s as Mother Jones, white-haired radical labor organizer. Mother Jones worked mainly with the United Mine Workers, where, among other activities, she often organized strikers' wives.
In 1903 Mother Jones led a children's march from Kensington, Pennsylvania, to New York to protest child labor to President Roosevelt. In 1905, Mother Jones was among the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW, the "Wobblies").
In the 1920s, Mother Jones wrote her Autobiography. Mother Jones became less active as her health failed, and died in 1930, age 83 (she claimed 100).
A 2001 biography by Elliott Gorn has added significantly to the facts known of Mother Jones' life and work.
- Autobiography of Mother Jones
- Gorn, Elliott J. Mother Jones: The Most Dangerous Woman in America. New York: 2001.
- Josephson, Judith P. Mother Jones: Fierce Fighter for Workers' Rights. Lerner Publications, 1997. Age: Young Adult.
Places: Ireland; Toronto, Canada; Chicago, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; West Virginia, Colorado; United States
Organizations/Religion: United Mine Workers, IWW - Industrial Workers of the World or Wobblies, Roman Catholic, freethinker
- Mother Jones: The Miners' Angel - Mara Lou Hawse
An illlustrated story of Mother Jones, from the Illinois Labor History Society -
Mary Harris (Mother) Jones
From the "Celebration of Women Writers" site, a biography of Jones. -
Mother Jones
Brief biography of Mary Harris Jones, honoring her induction (1984) into the National Women's Hall of Fame - Mary 'Mother' Jones
A hyperlinked biography of Mother Jones. - Faces of Protest: Mother Jones
From the PBS site accompanying the special, a brief profile of Mother Jones. (Also includes profiles of "Big" Bill Haywood, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and Samuel Gompers.) - Labor Hall of Fame: Mary Harris Mother Jones
From the U.S. Department of Labor web site, a biography of Mother Jones, illustrated. -
A Tribute to Mother Jones
A short article about Jones written by Socialist leader, Eugene V. Debs. - Ralph Chaplin Remembers Mother Jones
A paragraph from activist and "Wobbly" songwriter. - "The Death of Mother Jones"
Music and lyrics for the song, origin unknown, recorded by, among others, Gene Autry. - Timeline
Beware of a few typos. - The Union Miners Cemetery
A visual tour of the Mount Olive, Illinois, cemetery that includes the grave of Mother Jones. - Mother Jones Archives
Magazine named after activist Mother Jones presents an online archives of their articles, 1993 to present.
